It Doesn't Have to Be Awkward: Dealing with Relationships, Consent, and Other Hard-to-Talk-About Stuff, written by Drew Pinsky and Paulina Pinsky, reviewed by Bethany Bratney

Summary:  TV doctor, Dr. Drew Pinsky, and his daughter, Paulina, team up in this accessible, well-paced book about relationships. The entire book is framed through a concept introduced in the first chapter - that all relationships, whether romantic, platonic, friendships, family relationships, etc. should be governed by the rule of TCB - trust, compassion, boundaries. The topics in the book range widely, highlighting chapters on self-identity, friendships, attraction, bullies, crushes, sex, substance abuse, assault and more, but always return to the TCB tagline, reminding readers that any of these situations will improve and benefit from building trust, harnessing compassion for yourself and others, and establishing clear and consistent boundaries.The Pinskys offer many anecdotes, both from their own lives and from teens they have spoken to, to illustrate their points, and there are frequent callout boxes with quizzes, important messages, and top three takeaways for each chapter. The book contains copious back matter, including many additional resources and support offerings.

Straight Talk for Librarians:  This book is an important addition to the ever-challenging human growth and development section of the library. The majority of the text is focused on taking care of oneself, communicating clearly and effectively, and making informed and important decisions within relationships. Though the text does address potentially controversial topics like sex and masturbation, these are discussed without specifics of the acts themselves, and always tied to important emotional factors, like consent, self-awareness and understanding, and breaking through common misconceptions and stereotypes. That being said, the authors (without details) encourage masturbation as a self-understanding exercise, and suggest that sex does not only have to happen in committed relationships as long as TCB is in operation, so more conservative parents or communities may struggle with such concepts. Many parents would hand this title to middle school students, but it is probably better housed in a high school collection for general use. Overwhelmingly, though the topics of this book could indeed feel awkward, the focus is on healthy relationships and interactions with a focus on understanding and communicating emotions, which would make it a useful text related to human health or biology curriculum, and a valuable addition to a collection for teens who are experiencing or surrounded by these concepts for the first time.